Here's To Loving The Ones You're With

It's that time again.

Time to sit down and reflect on all the happenings from the past month. I TRY to purposefully savor the moments: the childlike wonder of a snow fall, the twirling of princess dresses, the discovery of a toy train... the oatmeal stuck to the floor. And yet, despite my best attempts it still passes by so quickly and as I sit to write all that comes to mind are mere shadows of memory.

Listen to me... sounding rather forlorn. Truth is... we're busy living life to it's fullest, celebrating each day the best we can, all the while remembering that we are merely sojourners on a journey. This journey's end has not yet come... but when it does and a new chapter begins, I'm sure we'll care most about the relationships fostered here. And we've been blessed with some great ones!

So here's to February! A month for lovers. A month for chocolate. A month for loving the ones you're with! Here's what that looked like for us:

My little love, MJ, is still a momma's boy. I keep shooing away the worried male figures in his life, reassuring them that it's only temporary. While I certainly hope he has a lifetime of love for his momma, I know that his interest in me is short-lived and that one day some other gal shall have his heart (*Hi there, daughter-in-love... praying for you and looking forward to meeting you one day!*) and until he attempts to soar to new heights away from the safety of my lap... well, I'm enjoying his toddler love.

 I don't, however, disregard the concerned faces of the men when they saw this:

 MJ, 21 months

Yes, that's my son. Playing dress-up. In a ladybug costume.

I told my husband that perhaps with a little squinting he could see that MJ was really pretending to be St. Valentine... with the measles.

He didn't buy that description and promptly purchased a Batman costume. MJ retaliated by putting on a purple ball gown. I was forbidden to take pictures of that.

So there you have it.

In other Valentine's news... you've heard the adage you've got to say it with flowers? We put a new spin on it this year: you've got to have your flowers... and eat them, too!

Romantic candlelit dinners don't happen around here anymore. We've traded them in on something better. Bacon roses for breakfast. Need I say more?

Yes. Yes, I did make Jadyn eat the bacon rose she stuck her nose on.

Many thanks to Pinterest and all the wonderful people who dream up such crafty festive concoctions... perhaps during their candlelit dinners. I'm not jealous.

And speaking of Jadyn... she takes the cake (or ice cream, as the case may be) for the best quote of the month:

Jadyn: Pawpaw took me out to get ice cream!
Mommy: Where did you go?
Jadyn: He took me to Wendy's house. She has really good Frosties. :-)

 Jadyn, 3 / Morenna, 4 / MJ, 1.5

Now for some real family fun. As you've probably noticed by now, my camera taking skills were a bit pathetic this month. That's mostly due to... to... all my laziness time spent doing hands-on things with the kids. At our house the quickest way to assemble the troops is using a general call to arms: "Who wants to help Mommy make..."

On this particular day my patience was wearing thin as I not five seconds before had made my summons only to quickly find myself blocked from the very mixer I had been using before they came. How is momma supposed to help-you-help-her-make-you bread?!

In other news... yes, Jordynn is alive and well. She just didn't make the cut this month. No really... she's sitting on the counter in her infant seat in the picture above. I just figured leaving her foot in the picture wasn't necessary. :-)


Matt and my dad had some quality male bonding time finishing our basement crawl space this month. The project may have been fueled by Matt's aspirations of converting half the basement into a theater/movie room like in his bachelor pad our old house. They did an excellent job and the organization of all our junk seasonal decor is wonderful.

Last but not least, the real reason for my failure this month as a family photographer comes from the fact that I have returned to school part-time. After much consideration (and God-led series of events) I decided to return to school for a certification in Clinical Homeopathy. The program is 2-years in length, self-paced, and affords me training under one of the leading U.S. homeopaths. Holistic health care has been a growing passion for our family and we have been blown away by the resulting vitality we've seen in our family from using homeopathy and other forms of alternative medicine.

Speaking of... the business my girlfriend and I have been working on is just about ready to sprout wings and fly. Tune in next month for information on that!

As I draw this rambling note to a close, I am reminded of Jim Elliott's relevant quote: Wherever you are... be all there. I hope that rings true of your today... and your tomorrow.

A Time for Resolutions... or Not

January is typically a time for resolutions, but this New Year found us having such fun that we forgot all about any resolutions! 

Crazy we might be, but Matt and I decided to brave potential chaos and make a 10+ hour drive with all four little ones to Charleston, SC for the New Years holiday. We broke the trip up into two days (stopping over at hotels that had a pool!) and set smiles on our faces... come what may. Turns out: we had a wonderful time! 

The kids did wonderfully in the car. We kept back a few of their Christmas gifts and allowed them to be opened at designated stops along the way. Our van's entertainment system had quite the workout as did our prepacked activity bag of toys and snacks. But we arrived there as one happy family... and one week later returned happily too. 

The kiddos taking a soak in our beachhouse tub.

Some dear family friends joined us in renting a beach house for the week on Edisto Island. Our house set directly on the shore and it was such a joy to pursue normal household chores/activities (which of course must be continued whenever little ones "vacation" with the adults :-)) while a direct view of the waves filled every window. 

Daddy and his kiddos exploring the beach.

This was MJ and Jordynn's first time at the ocean. Jordynn was obviously unimpressed, but MJ enjoyed the miles of sand just beckoning him to dig through. Of course there were times during our family outings where he'd plop himself down in the sand and refuse to move. The joys of a toddler.

Matt spend part of the week working, but on his days off he was either out on the beach with the kiddos or taking a guys-only kayaking trip with a buddy. What a relaxing way to ring in the New Year with good friends, my favorite Charleston Coconut Cake, a terrific view... and a bourbon cocktail. Ahhh....

Once we returned home I worried the rest of January would drag by slowly, but somehow it sped past as all the months do. How are we already in mid-February and I'm just now posting this? January was so busy, in fact, that as I perused my camera for pictures I found only a handful!

Jordynn, 4 months (Taken at Edisto Island, SC)

Our little Jordy-Bug continues to bloom. She turned 4 months old while we were in SC (she's 5 months at the time of this posting!) and we just made it back home before she decided she was too old to hang out in a carseat for more than 5 minutes. She likes her freedom! I'm pretty sure I witnessed her first attempt at the army crawl a few weeks ago. She's quite determined and will figure out quite quickly the best way to get what she wants. Even if it's by throwing a tantrum. Yes, it's true. And guess who's the softy around here? Daddy. That's all I'll say about that. 

 

Jordynn uses her swing to nap meditate sometimes.

January brought us Midwestern-ers a few small snow storms.  The weather in January was actually quite bizarre, with a 70 degree day and a 4 inch snowfall occurring within the same week. The kids love the weather changes though. With the warm weather comes the ability to dig in the mud, pick Mommy's parsely in the garden, dig for bugs and picnic on the back porch. With the snow comes trips to Mawmaw & Pawpaw's for sledding, snow ice cream, and hot chocolate. MJ experienced some snow last year but has been able to play in it more this year. It takes me about an hour to get him dressed. :-)

MJ, 20 months

When we weren't running around on sugar-highs because of our snow ice cream and hot chocolate, most of the month found us living a pretty predictable schedule. Morenna and Jadyn enjoy helping me with tasks around the house, doing schoolwork, playing dress-up and attending their weekly kid's Bible study.

And that was our January! Now to go decorate those Valentine's Day hearts...

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like... December

Better late than never, right? As in most American households, December arrived rather abruptly, sent us reeling and then swooshed passed leaving us to pick up all the pieces and highlight on our 2013 resolution list: TAKE TIME TO ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS!

It was a wonderfully fun month, though. We were able to make it through nearly all of our family activities to celebrate the season. 

Our homemade treats we took to our neighbors!

One special seasonal event on our list was my dad's annual firehouse Christmas party. Though our family does not traditionally celebrate "Santa Clause", the kids do still find joy in pretending that there is a "Santa" out there who brings them gifts. 

Our "santa" happens not to make an appearance down our chimney flue, but rather lands with a thud on Paw-Paw's firehouse roof -- or arrives in his bright red sleigh firetruck -- during our annual firehouse Christmas party.

 

There are presents for each of the kiddos, yummy firehouse pizza... (seriously the BEST pizza you could ever have. Firemen not only know how to put out fires, they also know how to build them just right for baking pizza crusts... Who's hungry?) ... and a Santa so believable even my dad whispered a few things in the big guy's ear this year.

What? You don't see a picture of MJ or Jordynn with Santa?! Hmm, that could be because they cried their eyes out at the very sight of him. I'm not bitter. No. Not one BIT.

Something not listed on our activity sheet for December was a viewing of the holiday ballet, The Nutcracker. My parents purchased tickets for all of us girls and we had a lovely time. It obviously didn't hold Morenna & Jadyn's interest entirely, but they did a darn good job at sitting through the 2-hour performance. We had a marvelous girl's night out at one of the fanciest old-time theaters around.

A notable household event this month included MJ's discovery of my crafting bag of feathers. Between him and his dad they had the floor covered within a matter of minutes. Wish the clean-up job was as quick. :-)

Matt's family was unable to join us for the holidays this year, but his mom had a wonderful way of spanning the distance by sending the kids Christmas art projects during the early part of December. They had such fun doing the same crafts that Nana was doing with the preschool class she teaches.

 MJ not only discovered feathers this month, but also that glue needn't always come in a stick. 

One huge milestone: Morenna and Jadyn had their first sleepover! Here they are with their little friend B... I don't think any of them took their dress up clothes off the entire time. And contrary to popular belief... Matt and I did get some sleep that night. :-)

Christmas Eve found us with my Dad's side of the family as is tradition. We endured enjoyed the chaos of 17 children ages 4 months - 11 years (?) stripping their festively-wrapped gifts bare in a matter of seconds. Afterward, we packed our kiddos up and made the long trek walked them next door to my parent's house and put them to bed. Matt and I then enjoyed a relatively quiet evening at home wrapping gifts until 1AM.

Christmas morning was wonderfully relaxing. We returned to my parent's house to rouse the little ones and passed nearly no one on the drive there. The sunrise was breathtaking! And for those of you who claim my children are always smiling... I give you the first take of our Christmas Morning Photo:

 

As you can see... it takes a bit of song and dance to get our kids looking happy sometimes. :-) I give you, Christmas 2012:

 

Of course we still had a couple of unhappy people to contend with... but one of them made up for it later with the winning entry for "cutest picture of the month".

  

No, her ears don't always resemble those of an elf. Observe: sometimes they appear at random on the top of her head.

 Jordynn, 3 months

At any rate, from our home to yours... a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And thank you for reading this rather disjointed little update. I believe I'm in need of a nap...

November: Thankfulness At Our House

And another month begins. 

As we head into the busy season of December, I'm enjoying the chance to pause and look back at the month of November. The Thanksgiving Holiday is my favorite! In fact, I wish Christmas took it's cues to be more like it's predecessor holiday. 

Sometimes it's disheartening that we take the time to be thankful for all the Lord has blessed us

with and then only hours later Black Friday attempts to herald in a different message. May we all seek to carry the thanksgiving message with us through December as we celebrate the biggest reason to be thankful... the birth of the Savior! Anyway...

What November would be complete without the traditional romp-around in the leaves? The weather here in the Mid-West was sunny and warm most of the month, affording us lots of opportunities to play outside.

 Here are we burying my dad in a leaf pile. My hair is pretty long here...would you believe it now hangs in beautiful ringlets around my face? Yeah, neither would I. It does, however, now have a perm thanks to a little grown girl I used to babysit in high school who is now achieving a degree in cosmetology. True story.

 I'm not sure if I've posted a photo of my childhood home here before... but here she is. In all her Fall glory. It was a pretty special place to grow up.

 Being that November is the "thankful month," at the inspiration of a friend we attempted to name a few of the many things our family is thankful for using a "thankful tree". Some of the random items selected by our littles included: the living room ceiling fan, loveys, family members, and... of course, cheese.

 While cheese is pretty amazing, Matt and I had no trouble naming our four little ones as what we're most thankful for this year. Our youngest little member continues to be such a sweet joy to us. She is by far our easiest baby, very laid back and content. And those blue eyes never cease to intrigue us. This little angel is wildly adored by her siblings who are always up for entertaining her by singing or dancing within a few feet of her. In MJ's case he'd be happy to climb all over her, but we try to keep that sort of sibling love to a minimum.

 Isn't she just the cutest thing? This month she started sleeping more through the night. We're now getting around 7 hours from her during the first stretch of the night, which has been wonderful. Sleep deprivation is still a real threat for Matt and I, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Jordynn's hair is coming in with a bit of a red tint. Achievements on her baby calendar this month also include rolling from tummy to back!

And speaking of cute... here's the male version: 

 This little guy exhausts all parental energies. His favorite activity continues to be playing in the water, which now that it's too cold to play in water outside means that all the water play now happens on my kitchen floor. Thankyouverymuch. His vocabulary has grown this month to include phrases like "I don't like that," and "no, no diaper change," and inquiries like "pee in the potty?" This latest phrase is the direct result of the many reminders spoken to our 2nd born... who just in time for her 3rd birthday, is finally POTTY-TRAINED! Praise the Lord.

 Allow me to skip the Thanksgiving Holiday and first mention that at the end of the month our little Jady-Bug turned 3 years old. Her achievement of potty-training is just one of the many areas of maturity that testifies to her growing up. She had a "Finding Nemo" birthday party with some friends and enjoyed receiving new panties, sparkling pink shoes and a ballerina jewelry box on her special day. Her birthday wish: a day with MawMaw... and so that's where she spent a good majority of her day, after a morning romp-around a the local children's museum with her Daddy & Mommy.

 And now for Thanksgiving: The Day. Like much of the country, we enjoyed a warmer-than-usual holiday in the mid-60s. This afforded the kids ample time for outside play while the adults were able to enjoy some rare moments of uninterrupted turkey coma  dinner.

While everyone was outside, though, I was able to snag some good shots of Morenna and MJ (and who is that good lookin' man?), as seen above and below. It was a beautiful day of celebration - especially for Morenna who spend the day on a sugar high chasing her cousins around - brought to close by our traditional viewing of "Miracle on 34th Street."

 Bring on the Christmas decorations!

 It's true that children really bring on the wonder of the season.  Matt and I enjoyed decorating the house one afternoon while the kids were napping and the joy and tears that appeared on their faces as they came downstairs was priceless. Yes! We had accomplished Operation Winter Wonderland. 

In addition to the annual decoration fest, Matt and I also had a few enjoyable grown-up happenings this month. Matt was able to have a night away and attend our church's men's retreat. He really enjoyed getting to know the men in our church more. 

And I was able to attend an 8-hour course in homeopathic medicine and herbal studies. It's a little-known secret that a close friend and I are in the throws of starting an herbal business called the Nourishing Herbalist. We're in the process of getting the webpage put together and the content live, but I'll be sure to post more about it when the time comes. In the meantime, I have other projects my book that needs to take up most of my free time.

So anyway, there it is folks. Our month of November. Not logged were the 85+ meals made, 28 loads of laundry, 300+ diapers changed and 10+ toilet scrubbings. I'll leave you to fill in the rest. But I'm trying hard to be thankful for it all. :-) How about you?

'Tis The Season

It seems that the yearly approach of the Christmas season continues to take me off-guard. I have such dreamy expectations of celebrating the holidays to their fullest, yet Christmas still arrives out of nowhere leaving me woefully unprepared. Not so this year, my friends. 

A few weeks ago I queried friends for meaningful Christmas activities and received some excellent responses. Coupling that with a hodge-podge of great resources found online and a little of my own originality I ended up with this: a great listing of holiday festivities for our family to brighten the season. I hope this sneak peak of what we'll be doing this year is helpful to you as you seek to make Christmas a meaningful time of faith, family and friendship. And in light of it all, may we never forget the real Reason for the Season. 

Merry Christmas!

A Mid-Western Family Christmas Celebration!

 

Putting Christ Back Into Christmas (Advent)

• Build a Jesse Tree (free devotionals and ornament prints, guide for doing it at home) or you can build your own and read one of the many Jesse Tree devotional books
• Make a birthday cake for Jesus

Simple Holiday Pleasures

• Put up Christmas tree & decorations
• Make a new Christmas CD & listen to it.
• Operation Christmas Mouse*, December 1^st
• Given: watch lots of Christmas movies and listen to lots of Christmas songs while sitting around the tree. :-)

Christmas Crafts

• Make a hand-print family Christmas tree (use as our Jesse Tree)
• Make a Christmas countdown chain
• Make candy cane playdough
• Make and decorate Christmas trees
• Make Christmas Ornaments (here, and some for Grandparents’ gifts here)
• Color Christmas sheets
• Make Baby Jesus in the manger

We won’t be getting to these this year, but here are two fun count-down-to-Christmas activity ideas:

Child’s Book and Activity Advent

Ornament Advent

Celebrating God’s Love

• Make Christmas baskets for our neighbors w/ Scripture (to include: candy cane play dough, Peppermint Popcorn Bark, Poor Man’s Toffee, Gingerbread men)
• Sort through toys and give a box away to Salvation Army
• Hang Shepherds’ Pouches on the mantle in lieu of stockings

   

Yummy Christmas Goodies

• Make marshmallow snowflakes and hot chocolate
• Make cranberry candy canes (breakfast treat)
• Make White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn Bark
• Make Poor Man’s Toffee
• Make gingerbread men

 

Places to Go

• Visit Christmas in Canal Winchester, OH
• Attend church Lifegroup Christmas Party
• Attend Station #4 Firehouse Christmas Party
• Visit Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo
• Visit Dickens Victorian Village in Cambridge, OH
• The Fantasy of Lights at Alum Creek State Park
• Just a drive around town to look at lights

 

Special Christmas Books

We have appreciated this resource of quality Christmas books to read during the season:

The Legend of the Christmas Tree by Rick Osborne

The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg

The Legend of the Christmas Stocking by Rick Osborne

The Story of St. Nicholas: More than Reindeer and A Red Suit by Voice of the Martyrs

The Three Gifts of Christmas by Jennie Bishop

The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Hunt

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski

The Pine Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs

The Gift of the Magi by O Henry

The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (adapted picture book version)

The Candle In the Window by Grace Johnson

Jacob’s Gift by Max Lucado

One Wintry Night by Ruth Graham Belle

Christmas Carols for Kids Hearts by Sergio Martinez

Josie’s Gift by Kathleen Bostrom

We Believe in Christmas by Karen Kingsbury

The Indescribable Gift by Richard Exley

Also:

God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Bergren (Our all-time favorite)
The Birds of Bethlehem by Tommy DePaola
The Lion in the Box by Marguerite De Angeli
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
All Is Well by Frank Peretti

*There are many variations of the Christmas Mouse. For our family, the Christmas Mouse quietly visits the bed of each child on December 1st leaving them a brand new pair of Christmas pj’s to wear for the season.

October at Our House

Back when we were a one-child family I found myself with lots of time on my hands and enough brain cells left over to create a bi-weekly newsletter filled with updates on life for our close friends and family. And then we had baby #2. 

Sleep then seemed like a thing of the past and with it went what little creativity I had. In a half-hearted attempt I pursued blogging, which went fairly well until we decided in May 2010 to make a 400 mile move... followed by baby #3. 

But in the back of my sleep-deprived mind, I've missed those newsletters... and I think others have too. They serve as such special portholes into our life and times and I can't help but wonder how many memories have since fallen by the wayside because I forgot to write them down. 

All that to say... here we go again. There is no creativity - or even time - to publish my little family newsletter, but I do think a monthly blog post updating the interested public is in order. With no further ado, I give you Vol. 1 No. 1 of the new and improved life and times of our family of three, four, five... six!

Welcome, Water Baby!

On September 5th we welcomed our fourth child and third daughter: Jordynn Evangeline Marie…. This is her story:

Born @ 7:42PM
8lbs 6oz
19inches

For you GUYS who might be reading, here’s an abbreviated version:
 
True labor started around 9am Wednesday morning Sept 5th and 10.5 hours later we had a live baby at home. Yes, my husband missed the very first NFL game. No, he didn’t complain about it, albeit he glanced mournfully at the TV every 5 minutes. Just kidding. 



And for the LADIES:

1. Why a homebirth?

2. Jordynn's Story


Let me first answer a pressing question… why a homebirth? 

My previous two births were attended by terrific CNMs (certified nurse-midwives) who had hospital privileges. I had good experiences with them, however, Jadyn and MJ were both diagnosed with shoulder dystocia during labor. This uncommon issue can be an obstetrical emergency resulting in damage or even death to the infant in severe cases. Thankfully our issues were never so serious. That said, my CNM with MJ was a bit shaken by our birth experience and she encouraged us to induce or grow a smaller baby the next time around. Ha!

When I returned pregnant with Jordynn, I found I had a bit of a reputation in the CNM’s office for my shoulder dystocia experience. As the months went on I grew tired of their continued mention of it and their reluctance to let me have the hospital birth I wanted simply because I was a bit of a liability. Concurrently I read “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth,” a wonderful, albeit very crunchy, book written by one of the US’s most experienced midwives. Ina seemed unshaken by the urgency of shoulder dystocia which inspired me to do my own research about the issue.  I came away feeling strongly that my past births weren’t truly shoulder dystocia cases; the baby was simply not given time to rotate properly. Furthermore, all the safety the hospital afforded me in that situation was the possibility of a C-Section, in which event the baby is usually so stuck that the time required to prep for surgery can be too long. 

Armed with this info Matt and I confidently switched to a small home-birth midwifery practice in my eighth month.  Though so late in my pregnancy the midwives agreed with my evaluation that I most likely didn’t have dystocia issues and simply needed better support, direction and patience in labor... and they agreed to give it to me. Thus we fast-forward to September… 

Jordynn initiated her arrival in mid-August when my enemy/”friend” prodromal labor arrived. I fully anticipated a baby during week 39 and experienced contractions every day from 4pm-10pm starting around week 38. I was less than thrilled when no baby appeared days later. Ditto the following week.  Aaaaand ditto the following week. Seriously?! Me, past my due date?! Three weeks of prodromal crap?! Inconceivable!  

Me at 41 weeks

September 4th I started having stronger contractions in the morning – rather unusual from the prodromal pattern – and they continued all day at 3-5 minutes apart. I asked one of my midwives to come check the baby and she did a cervical check as well… no change. I was still 3cm and 60% as I had been for weeks. So after a Tylenol, a glass of wine and a good cry Matt and I went to bed. They stopped sometime in the night.

*Drumroll, please….*

Wednesday September 5th found me 41 weeks, 4 days preggo. And tired. And cranky. Thankfully I had a mother’s helper lined up for the morning and when she arrived I escaped upstairs to call one of my best friends. Then a *real* contraction hit. Finally! 

(Prodromal labor often leaves a laboring woman feeling so stupid when real labor starts. It’s rather retrospective in that sense… only in hindsight can you look back and say… “oh, yes, I WAS in labor”. However, there was no doubt in my mind that we finally reached a birth day. Yay!)

I didn’t time my contractions (I never do when they are the real thing since they are ALWAYS irregular. Whoever met a textbook laboring woman, anyway?) but they were intensifying so I called my midwives to cancel my office appointment and let them know I’d be needing them later. Once the kiddos were down for their naps my mom came over and we watched “Sense and Sensibility”. Contractions were now at the small land-mammal noise-making level. :-) Progress!

At 4pm… it was time to rid the house of small children. My parents graciously obliged and I finished the movie alone while waiting for the midwives to arrive. Matt busied himself by preparing our last minute items and tending to me when my primal noises approached the more mid-sized land-mammal level.

 -- Might I interject here how AWESOME it was not to have to prepare to head to the hospital! It was SO much more relaxed and comfortable at home. Using my own bathroom :-). No pressing thoughts of who else had been laboring on the toilet... --

My 3 midwives, Jill, Tanya and Alison arrived at 5pm. Two focused solely on me and my comfort while the other joined Matt in filling the birth tub in our living room. I still had no trouble working through these contractions; my biggest hurdle was the knowledge of what was coming and dreading… dreading… dreading. There is bliss in first-time birth. Not so much in subsequent ones.

Around 6pm I climbed in the tub and fell in love. I thought for sure I wouldn’t like it or would feel out of control working through contractions. Not so. Though the "pain" wasn't lessened for me, the weightlessness afforded more opportunities for movement without feeling like a beached whale. 

For the next half hour or so I floated through the “squeezes” and chatted about random topics. Matt was a huge comfort in the tub as he rubbed my back and the midwives helped me keep my voice low. I was encouraged to gauge my own labor progress (a very empowering thing) and finally close to 7pm I was starting to struggle with the intensity. 

--Enter aquatic-mammal noises and lots of whining.—

By this time my mind was chanting “no, no, no” while the rest said “oh yes, oh yes, oh yes.” I told the midwives I was feeling “pushy” and lo and behold the next contraction had a double peak… the first peak broke my water (a lovely and non-messy thing being in the tub!) and the second peak brought Jordynn completely down to crowning. It was so fast that she was very bruised afterward, poor thing.

The midwives helped me control my pushing more than I had with the previous three, which I both loved and loathed them for. During this time it was great to be floating in the water, leaning into Matt’s arms. Pushing in the water didn’t annoy me at all like I thought it would. I still felt very in control and as my contractions eased off I found I could relax much more than being in a hospital bed. And who couldn't with Enya playing in the background and my favorite candle burning nearby?

 After those few intense minutes of waiting, I delivered her head and breathed a sigh of relief. Jordynn had her cord wrapped firmly around her neck but it was still pulsing so the midwives decided to just let her be and summersault her out when the time came.

And now the moment of truth was here… would she be “stuck” like the other two had been? The midwives waited quietly and patiently, watching Jordynn’s color and asking me if I felt any further contractions. I didn’t. So we waited… and waited. For two entire minutes the midwives sat back and just let my body do its thing. It was wonderful. I was in no discomfort and thoroughly enjoyed the rest, floating in the warm water. Sloooowly Jordynn rotated as she was supposed to, but I had no further contractions. My senior midwife suggested I flip to my hands and knees to see if that would trigger a contraction. It was so easy to manipulate myself in the water and the very process of moving definitely kicked things back into gear. One push and out she came… with no shoulder issues whatsoever.

They left Jordynn floating in the water while I turned back around and sat down. I was able to pick her up out the water on my own and lay her on my chest. (‘Tis a very strange thing to see your new baby grayish-blue and floating face down in the water. I’m so glad I had watched numerous water birth videos to prepare me for that!) I rubbed her back and the midwives gave her a few pumps of air. Her first little cry was a pathetic one but within minutes she perked up and let us have it!
 

I climbed out of the tub minutes later and walked to the couch carrying our new child. I delivered the afterbirth there quite easily. Then the midwives excused themselves and Matt and I had a good hour just staring at her by ourselves. It was wonderful! Afterward I had a snack, went upstairs, took a shower, put on my own pajamas and cuddled up in bed while they did the newborn assessment. I felt terrific! I could never have hoped for a more peaceful and beautiful home birth experience.

 

 

Home birth is certainly not for everyone, but to those who are interested I would heartily encourage them to give it a try. My midwives were intuitive and confident in their work (much more than even the CNMs I’ve had in the past) and amazed me with their support and good humor. Moreover, they chose to encourage me in being confident in my body’s ability to do its thing, especially as we moved further past my due date, and in my own intuition. Jordynn showed no signs of being post-term and my placenta had no calcification either. Clearly, my worrying was for not.

Overall the homebirth and waterbirth experience was empowering and peaceful and I would do it again in the future. I loved avoiding the medical stresses of being "watched" in the hospital with the chaos that surrounds most moments at birth and finding comfort and deep peace in remaining at home. It truly reduced the birth experience to the natural, God-ordained physiological event that it is.That's not to say there isn't a place to medical intervention, but I'm a firm believer it should be the exception and not the norm. I hope this story encourages others to believe likewise.

Our new family of six!

A Lesson in Parenting

We’re home! There are still boxes to be unpacked and the occasional home maintenance project to conquer, but we’re moved. I hope to resume posting now as time allows, and I’m jumping in with both feet today. I know you’re probably anxious for pictures, but for now you’ll have to bear with me as I pour out some thoughts on a rather deep topic this morning. :-) Ah, it’s good to be back.

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I was so discouraged yesterday by my eldest's disobedience. She was blatantly rebellious throughout the day and I’m sorry to admit that I lost my temper on several occasions.  Badly.

The guilt floods in then: “what a poor role model I am!” “How can I expect her to act a certain way, when I’m not acting that way?” 

With the guilt comes feelings of failure and fear. “Am I not training her correctly?”

God in His holiness knows not failure or fear, and yet how often do I act the same way as my child? However, He extends His grace to me, knowing that I battle not against flesh and blood, but against sin. And He has compassion towards me. Again and again.

I would do well to remember this during my daughter’s bouts of disobedience. Even Paul, a grown adult, grieved that he knew what was right yet did not do it (Romans 7:19 ). All mankind wrestles similarly, yet the Lord remains patience and loving towards His children.

I need to respond in kind, not in anger, but in compassion, as I strive to teach and equip my children to overcome the sin in their own lives.

Which brings me to my anger. My righteous anger, I like to think. In truth, it’s yet another example of my sin, as I am searching for my own glorification through the model behavior of my child. If I wasn’t wresting with wounded pride when I correct her, I would have no fuel for my anger. Only compassion for my sister in Christ who is struggling as I am.

And that is what I want: compassion. I’m so glad today is a new day.

...And As Promised

As I mentioned previously, my friend, Hannah, has an eye for photography.

And as promised, I do have lots of pictures of my animated first-born to share with you over the coming weeks. But here’s something else to tide you over until after our move.

Morenna is becoming quite the sophisticated little Diva. At times she reaches such an extreme that it scares me. She plays the role all too well.

And when I saw this picture Hannah took, I giggled at what a prime example it was of my little lady:

A Little Something to Hold You Over

If you didn’t know, we are preparing to move 400 miles to a new home... closer to family. This has been such an answer to prayer for my husband and I. A prayer more than two years in the making.

Soon I hope to share God’s goodness in directing our steps, but until then you’ll just have to bear with me. Trying to pack up a house with two small children around has been quite a difficult task for me, especially considering that this is the largest move I’ve ever made. In. My. Life.

So while we meander our way through boxes over here, let me tempt your interest with this, the most precious picture I have of Jadyn to date. And I didn’t even take it.

All credit goes to my girlfriend, Hannah. She’s incredible behind a lens... and in front of one, too, if you can catch her. :-)

Whacha think? And yes, I do have pictures to post of my sweet firstborn, too. Not to worry. :-)

Lil’ Sitter

Someone learned to sit by herself!
Look at those cheeks!
Jadyn, mid-May 2010